Appreciating August

Heat. Humidity. Stormy weather. The end of Summer. August can bring a lot of things to mind… many of which are not all that great.  But it does mean at least one good thing: an abundant supply of fresh, juicy, flavorful tomatoes.  It’s difficult to go to a grocery store or farmers’ market these days and not be tempted (especially when it comes to heirloom varieties in their exotic shapes and colors).  Given the relatively short season (and the dismal selection available the rest of the year), It seems almost criminal not to include at least one tomato-based recipe on the weekly menu.

Last week I came across a recipe for a French Tomato Tart that seemed like a good vehicle for August‘s bounty.  It comes from David Lebovitz (famous American pastry chef and food writer currently living the good life in Paris) via The Kitchn.   I decided to follow the latter's lead and make mine free-form using store bought pie dough because it’s a Wednesday night and y’all know I’m all about weeknight shortcuts these days. (Plus it took me an hour and a half to get home from work today and the thought of doing anything else seemed way too daunting.) As a result, it ended up being a pretty quick and easy meal to pull together. And tasty too. I only had two small complaints—1) the original recipe did not specify the quantity of mustard to spread on the bottom of the tart. Since I like mustard, I was pretty generous—next time I’ll scale it back a little bit.  2) As The Kitchn also suggested, the ripe tomatoes resulted in a somewhat soggy bottom. I tried to proactively address this by seeding the tomatoes and then patting them dry but that didn’t quite do it.  I’m honestly not sure if there is an easy solution—August tomatoes are naturally juicy! I suppose I could par-bake the crust next time (although this would be easier to do if I were using a tart pan rather than going free form). All in all, I’d say the tart was a delicious (and easy) way to get my weekly tomato fix!

Rustic French Tomato Tart
Adapted somewhat from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 unbaked tart/pie dough (either homemade or store bought)
1-2 TBL Dijon or whole grain mustard (to taste)
2-3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 TBL olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 TBL fresh thyme
3-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled or sliced into rounds

1.Preheat to 425. If you are going to make a free-form tart, place parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet and place tart dough on pan. Alternatively, press dough into a tart pan trimming the excess dough.
2.Spread an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough.
3.Arrange the tomatoes over the mustard (the recipe says in a single, even layer but I decided to overlap a little bit). Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
4.Sprinkle ¾ of the chopped thyme and then top with goat cheese. Sprinkle remaining herbs.
5.If you are going the free-form route, fold the edges up toward the center of the tart.
6.Bake for 25-30 minutes until dough is cooked and cheese has started to brown. Slice and serve with a green salad if serving as an entrée.

A Case of the Mondays

Oh Mondays. How I loathe thee….

Between not getting much sleep last night (thanks to my ill advised decision to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before bed last night), waking up early for my longer than usual commute, and the commute itself, I am tired. And Friday seems so far away. Part of me wanted to ask Jason to pick something up for dinner on his way home from work so I could totally veg out tonight but I decided that was too much of a cop out, especially considering I planned and purchased a week’s worth of meals/food yesterday and don’t want any of it to go to waste.  Instead, I put on my big girl pants and made a lovely Lemon Fussilli with Arugula from my girl Ina Garten’s book Barefoot Contessa At Home (which is, by the way, my favorite of her cookbooks to date).

It is exceptionally good and very easy to whip up…even when you are *this close* to being a walking zombie. I found myself wondering why I don’t make this more often…..until I remembered that the recipe calls for 2 cups of heavy cream. TWO CUPS!

Warning: this is not a healthy recipe. Don’t let the tomatoes and arugula fool you.

I halved the sauce in order to try and dial back the fat a little bit and I think it was just as good as the original. A lemony, garlicky cream sauce over pasta with tomatoes and arugula that are just warmed through at the end.  It is comfort food at its best--the perfect cure for a case of the Mondays.

(Note: if you have leftovers, I would recommend re-warming them slowly in a saucepan on the stove or in short bursts in the microwave. The sauce has a tendency to separate and while it still tastes good, it doesn’t look as appetizing.)

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula
Adapted, a little bit, from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
1 TBL olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lemon
1 cup of heavy cream
8 ounces fussilli
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
A couple of handfuls of baby arugula
¼ cup (or less) parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

1.Heat olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 60 seconds. Add cream and both the zest and juice from the lemon. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Simmer sauce until it just starts to thicken, about 15 minutes.
2.Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fussilli and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Pour thickened sauce over the pasta and cook for 2-3 minutes until the pasta has had a chance to absorb most of the sauce.
3.Take off the heat. Add parmesan cheese, arugula, and tomatoes and stir until combined and arugula has started to wilt slightly. Serve.

I Heart the Weekend

This weekend more than made up for the less than stellar way my work week ended, in large part because of this:

Yep...Jason's replacement ring finally came in!

I celebrated the return of the ring by making a lovely dinner tonight of salmon kebabs, corn on the cob, and that awesome summer squash ribbon salad recipe I shared with you a little while back. You guys, this salad is SO GOOD. You need to make it…..like, right now. I'm kicking myself for not having made it more often this summer.

Another thing that helped—the Arcade Fire concert Friday night. What a great show—I always love watching insanely talented people doing what they so clearly love to do. How can you not have a good time watching performers who themselves look like they are having a good time?! If you don’t know Arcade Fire, you should definitely check them out!

Even though I felt like we were busy getting things done this weekend, I do feel like I had a chance to recharge a little bit. Which is good since I’ll be tackling the Northern Virginia-Baltimore commute for the next five days! Think good thoughts for me

Worst Day Ever

Ok, so maybe that is a bit of an overstatement. It was pretty sucky.

My original plan was to write a post about how, in an effort to adjust to my new commute, I'm exploring how to take leftovers and turn them into exciting new meals. For instance, last night I made the Thai beef salad I've told you all about. The plan was take the some of the leftover meat and make Vietnamese Beef Sandwiches from Everyday Food's Great Food Fast. But that plan went up in smoke when it took me over two hours to get home today.

You read that right. It took me MORE THAN TWO HOURS to get home. TWO HOURS. UGH.

Today was the first day of a week of driving back and forth to Baltimore for work. In the past when I have had to do this it has taken me a little more than an hour. But, for some reason, the traffic gods were not with me today. Pretty much every road I had to take to get home was backed up, which meant that although I left at 4:45, I did not get home until after 7.

So instead of interesting, delicious sandwiches, we had sliced beef and Swiss.

I guess some days you just can't win.

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS tomorrow is Friday!

Brown Bagging It

My new job has also meant the start of new routines. New morning routines. New evening routines. New commuting routines. And new lunch routines. As I mentioned a week or so ago, I have started taking my lunch to work most days. While this isn’t all that different to eating at home everyday (back when I was telecommuting for my old job), it does require a little more planning and a few new accessories.

New lunch accessory #1—reusable lunch bag.

 I guess technically this means I am green bagging it!

In order to be green and save a few bucks, I have invested in this insulated, reusable lunch bag. It is the perfect size for my current lunch menu and at $4.99 at The Container Store, a total bargain. Truth be told, I originally had my eye on this adorable neoprene lunch tote (in polka dot), also from The Container Store:

But at more than $20 I decided it wasn’t worth it. I settled for the cheap but peppy green bag instead.

As for what’s inside my lunch bag? I am definitely a creature of habit and my daily lunches have already turned into routine. Every day pretty much the same thing: yogurt (I like the new Greek-style yogurt which is thicker and has more protein than your run-of-the-mill yogurt), a nectarine, a mini-bag of Smartfood white cheddar popcorn (only 100 calories!), and a Kashi peanut butter granola bar. Occasionally I throw in some carrots when I am feeling a need for some veggies. I find this to be a pretty healthy lunch that keeps me full most of the day.

I did worry about keeping my yogurt cold until lunch time since I work in a huge building with few refrigerators available for easy lunch storage. Which brings us to….

New lunch accessory #2—mini ice pack.

This was another Container Store find and was only, I think, $1. It is about the size of a pack of cards and works like a charm, keeping my yogurt the perfect temperature throughout the morning until I have time to eat. You just have to be careful how you arrange everything else in the bag—the first time I used it, my granola bar got too close to it and was so hard I could hardly break a piece off let alone take a bite!

All in all my new lunch routine seems to be working out well. What do your lunch routines look like?

Weeknight Shortcuts

As much as I like to try my hand at making things from scratch (see goat cheese and breadmaking as examples), sometimes a shortcut (or two) is in order. Tonight, for instance, I decided to give a new recipe for Pasta with Baby Beets, Mint, and Feta a try. The original recipe called for sautéing the garlic with olive oil and red pepper flakes before adding it to the cooked pasta. I decided to skip this step (and save Jason from having to clean a second pan) and just add it to the rest of the vinaigrette ingredients. In addition, instead of dealing with the hassle of peeling and cooking a bunch of beets, I decided to take advantage of the refrigerated pre-packaged (and already cooked and peeled) beets my grocery offers in the produce section. Now I know taking advantage of such “convenience items” can get expensive which is why I usually limit their usage. But every once in awhile I think it’s perfectly acceptable to cut yourself a little slack both in and out of the kitchen.  Life is short, avoid the stress where you can!

Whether you take advantage of the shortcuts or not, this recipe is worth a try. I will be honest, though, I was not a huge fan of the mint. I like mint well enough but after a few bites the interesting mint-beet-feta flavor combo got old and I wished the mint wasn't so quite so front and center. Next time I think I would cut back on the mint (or get rid of it entirely) and add in some other sort of herb—parsley, maybe. Or even basil.  But the rest of the ingredients—feta, beets, lemony vinaigrette—were great and well worth trying out.

Pasta with Baby Beets, Mint, and Feta
Adapted from The Jewels of NY

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
2 TBL fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 TBL shallot, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 bunch baby beets, peeled or you can also use prepackaged refrigerated beets like I did
8 ounces of pasta, I used mini fussili
1/3 cup of fresh mint, roughly chopped
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

1.If you are going to cook the beets yourself, cook beets in a pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool and then dice up. If you are taking a shortcut, like I did, you can skip the cooking and just diced up the precooked beets.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
3.Meanwhile combine olive oil, lemon juice, zest, mustard, garlic, shallots, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4.Add diced beets, mint, hazelnuts, and feta to pasta. (Note: if you decide to take my shortcut method and used pre-cooked beets, pour the hot pasta on top of the beets in the bowl in order to warm them up a little before adding all the other ingredients). Drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss and serve.

Breakfast for Dinner

Pancakes are a good idea any time of day.

Especially when they are blueberry pancakes.

Yum.